port of plymouth canoeing association wet news 06 may 2016 · 2018. 9. 22. · moment to get their...

Port of Plymouth

Canoeing Association

Wet News 06

May 2016 Website:- http://www.ppca-canoe-club.org.uk/

Intro

As ever there is always much going on in the background from the committee as we move forward with

our club making sure that things are going in the right direction and supporting the best interests of club,

coaches and all members. So please come forward and highlight something that you feel will help however

small or big it might be….. We are addressing coaching issues and talking to many other clubs at the

moment to get their feelings. Making sure our costs are the best value for money, be you new or an older

member. Purchasing new Boats to replace our aging fleet and giving it diversity, also equipment to support

better accessibility for some to get out on the water.

If there is something you want to write about or feel passionate about then please send me an email

[email protected] and we can look at including it in future iterations.

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Committee

Your Committee is :-

Chair – Tracy Jones

Vice Chair – Mike Scott

Club Leader – Andy Nicholls

Assistant Leader – Ben Mitchell

Secretary – Bob Grose

Welfare Officer – Sheona Grant

Intro coordinator – Wendy James

Membership Sec – Paul Hewson

Treasurer – Jenny Nicholls

Equipment – Pete Anderson

Publicity Officer – Nick Campbell

Youth Dev Officer – Damean Miller

Full contact details can be found on the club website under “Contact Us” tab.

**Next Committee Meeting will be held:- TBC , any points you wish to raise contact Bob Grose secretary@ppca-

canoe-club.org.uk

http://www.ppca-canoe-club.org.uk/

mailto:[email protected]



PPCA QUIZ NIGHT – Paul Hewson

The club is holding a social night in the form of a quiz ……yes there will be a few small prises for the

winning team. So come along and give your support if you can:

Date: Monday 23rd May 2016

Time: 2000Hrs (8pm)

Location: Mountbatten, Upstairs Bar - side room (where the AGM was held!)

Teams: 5 per team

Cost: £10 per team (if not in a team of 5 then £2 per person)

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Two Star Assessment - Andy Nicholls

I have scheduled the first of this years 2 star assessments for Saturday 18 th June 2016. Start time to be confirmed in

next months but it will be an all-day test. There is a 2 star progression chart which is downloadable from our website

under the coaching tab. There will also be a few I will bring on Tuesday. These list all the skills you need to be able to

do in both Canoe and Kayak. This assessment is approximately 10 weeks into the season so you should have had

plenty of chance to get out in both kayaks and canoes to learn the skills before the test. If you are unable to make

this date there will be another one later in the season most probably in September.

Progress in the sport you love….

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RIVER LYNHER CHALLENGE – Dan Barnes

Help For Heroes Sponsored Row

Saturday 18th June

Saltash to St Germans

Leaving Saltash 15:30. open to all oared craft, anything goes.....

All welcome age/ability..

There will be boats in attendance along the route.

It's approximately 6 miles and the tides behind you.

Back at St Germans quay.

Entertainment for all ages, BBQ, tea coffee cake, games, duck race, etc.

With all proceeds going to Help for Heroes.

There will be live music to welcome the rowers back and the bar will be open.

For more information and sponsorship formers pleas contact Dan Barnes

[email protected]

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Do you shop online? – Andy Nicholls

Help Fund Our Club!

The Club has an Easy Fundraising account. Simply go to our website, you will see on almost every page, the above

image. Simply click on it and it will take you to the sign up screen for our cause. You can download a reminder tool

and then it will automatically pick up when you visit a website where we can collect donations. You do your shopping

and Easy Fundraising will give us some money, it won’t cost you a penny.

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The Seventh Pearl of Wisdom – David Pedlow

It’s Friday. I’m preparing my breakfast. Over my tinnitus I can hear the sports commentator working himself up to a

crescendo “. . .and for the 750th day in succession David deftly slices his banana over the Muesli Yogurt mixture in his

bowl – and yes! It’s a record!!!!!!!!

Then tomorrow’s paddle plans flash in my mind, and the appreciative roar of the crowd cuts off abruptly; to be

replaced by an Albert Hall size gospel choir singing a single phrase that a well-wisher dropped into my brain after our

Easter Saturday storm paddle, to a tagless bit of tune

“Is it wise, is it wise, is it wise, is it wise?

Dispensing pearls of wisdom, Is it wise?”

Don’t ask me what I did the rest of the day – it wasn’t worth remembering.

It’s Saturday. The temperature’s about 4

degrees – sorry Adam, 277.15 Kelvin, in your

universe – it’s raining, trying to hail. Bekky,

EMU & I are tying down our boats on EMU’s

car, and that blasted phrase is ricocheting

round my brain, “Is this a wise thing to do?”

There’s a word for it – “ambivalent”. Jackie

picked up on it – her parting shot, “Why

don’t you just go for a walk and look for

orchids?”

By the time we get to Bigbury, mealy worms

have hatched out and are rampaging through

my gut. I look out at three foot of surf and

my head tells me it’s nothing. It says “look at

the others; they’re so much up for this.”

Its real beginners stuff down there, but I want to go to the loo; I want to be sick; unbelievably there’s been yet

another hatch of mealy bugs. I get my boat down on the sand and start to head for the small wave East Beach, but

Mark and Bekky whip me back to the main one.

I don’t feel much better paddling out; but then I sort of catch a wave and don’t swim, and suddenly the sun’s out.

Two or three rides later I’m swimming. Praise the Lord for drysuits. Mark notices, paddles in, helps me with the boat.

He reminds me of the simple ways to get rid of the water (it seems so long since I last did this), helps me to relaunch

– and then goes off to play in the bigger waves.

A few rides later I’m swimming again. This time I manage to get the boat in to the beach, empty and refloat it on my

own. “Take a star, Pedlow!” Paddle out and push to catch another proper ride or two.

Smeg says he knows a nice cove where we can have a break without having to punch out through the surf

afterwards, and he, Mark and I start off there. It’s further than I thought. My arms are like rubber. My vision’s gone

monochrome tunnel. I could be considerably happier. We work our way out through the swells breaking on the reef;

shimmy through a cliff gap between walls of white water, and crash onto the beach in dumping surf.

“Oops”, laughs Mike, “Forgot to mention that it might be a bit rough!”

I stagger out of the boat, collapse face down in the sun on a nice flat rock, and wish I could stay there for ever. But

Mike’s got a flask of hot chocolate with evap (and God knows what else) in it, and the sugar(?) rush from that,

backed up with a Mars Bar, gets me sitting up, looking round, and noticing.

It really is a super little cove; floored with wave ridged

plains of rock; high cliffs all round; a dinky little cave

eroded into the corner; flooded with sunshine. Magic

really – yes, “Mike’s Magic Cove”.

And somehow (as so often after a short, brain

processing break), launching’s a breeze. The way

through the reef is tide locked, so we paddle round the

end, actively enjoying the big swells that nearly have us

surfing down them. My arms and sight have come back,

and when we get to the beach there are more waves

for us to surf. What was I worrying about?

The next time I foul up turning back over the wave I manage to roll up. Progress! But the time after that, I’m

swimming again.

I decide, “That’s it” – but once the boat’s empty and I’ve had a little recover, I’m working my way out again,

suspecting that I shouldn’t, but drawn to the action over towards the river mouth.

Yes. Well. I shouldn’t have. Big sets come through just as I get there, and on the first, not even trying to set up for it,

I roll out (roll out, for heaven’s sake) on the landward side of the boat. Pop up the same side, and see the next swell

poised above me, ready to break. Somehow I get my feet up against the boat and manage to push it away from me

along the wave before it rampages down the surf front in full decapitation mode. No black eye this time!

Bekky paces me as I swim/stagger in; and Mark wrangles my boat. They empty it out, and just as I’m about to start

dragging it back to the steps, Mark swings the boat on his shoulder, leaving me and my exhausted paddle to plod

behind him to the car. Then he’s off, back to really work those bigger river waves, while I slowly get myself together,

and doze off in the warm car.

It’s Sunday. Jackie’s reminding me that we’re back to paying Council Tax this month. The forecast is crap, but the

cherry trees are just breaking bud. I ache all over, but oh! It’s so good to feel alive and tingly.

Was yesterday a wise thing to do? You betcha!.

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Blast and Ballast - Adam Coulson

Following on from some lightweight writing about early experience on the white water of local rivers over the

winter, I though that I’d dip my toe into writing about a day out in longer boats. Karen and I have done a bit of sea

kayak paddling but took the plunge (yeah) and bought some sea kayaks in the autumn so that we can paddle

independent of the club in our own boats as well as getting to know them on club trips. Unfortunately the stormy

winter has limited the use of these to a few trips to date. However as we both had a weekday off, preparations were

made for a sea kayak expedition. Karen has been having a slight

equipment problem in terms of falling out with her new boat (actually,

more “of” than “with”). To be fair her early trips have been in some

pretty inclement weather and choppy seas. However, not willing to be

put off, further experience is required but preferably the right way up.

One suggested solution to help in keeping craft the right way up was to

add some ballast. Thus a call went out to my work colleagues who came

up trumps with a number of empty plastic drinks bottles that we filled

with the somewhat murky water of Mont Batten on a low spring tide. Our drinking tends to be done from glass

bottles. The bottles were distributed between the hatches so as not to adversely affect the trim of the boat.

One of the problems of limited time off and laying plans in advance is a natural reluctance to cancel on the basis of

the forecasted 20MPH winds. To avoid the worst of the chop and gain some assistance from the tide we elected to

paddle one way from Mount Batten to Cotehele. Clearly the major disadvantage of one way paddles is the travel to

leave a vehicle at each end, but this we did with reasonable efficiency and arrived at Mount Batten with the boats on

top of the “start” car. Unfortunately also in this car were our buckets for wet gear and my dry clothes to change

into. You’d have thought that some river paddling would have resulted in us being familiar with the logistics of what

you need where! However, at least with a sea kayak there is space to stuff the dry-bagged kit that is needed at the

other end – oh and before you ask, no we didn’t strap on the buckets!

Thus we launched at lunchtime and began our paddle across the mouth of

the Plym to Fisher’s Nose and worked our way around in front of The Hoe.

Karen reported that her boat felt more stable with the added weight and

the sea state and wind in the Sound were a lot quieter than expected. We

stopped to see the new Quality Hotel under construction – the Plymouth

sea front will be much improved when the old one is demolished. Contrast

this with the bijou Artillery Tower in Firestone Bay which now wines and

dines rather than defends the people of Plymouth as it did some 500 years

ago – both very well! We rounded Devil’s Point and slipped though the

narrows on a gently rising tide, pausing just to miss a photograph of

friendly local seal who took a good look at us. We were thinking that

this was all very pleasant and easy when BANG! That 20MPH wind was

blowing from the North East and picking up across the Hamoaze and

we were headed straight into it. Thus the hard work began, and it was

head down and paddle hard to maintain some forward progress.

Briefly we admired the distinctive mast and said “Hullo” to King Billy

prior to running the gauntlet of the Torpoint Ferries. There are three running but it is not hard to time your run to

miss them, as they never go off course and cross fairly slowly. However Karen was having increasing difficulty

steering her boat into the wind and a bit of a tow helped maintain progress in the right direction. The ballast

certainly didn’t seem to help this. We made our way past the naval vessels tied up alongside, close enough to hear

the various tannoys calling sailors to duties. Unfortunately a little too close for the liking of MOD Plod, who politely

directed us out into the windy and choppy middle of the Tamar. We took a little shelter from the barges moored at

the mouth of the Lynher before landing on the beach at Henn Point for a well-deserved stretch, lunch and coffee (in

that order). Here we were joined by the same Police Officers who wanted some more details as control room

reckoned we looked like activists and were “casing the joint”. The attending officers did not but did their duty by

taking down the details also “dutifully” supplied by us. The very polite officer declined to believe that Karen’s real

name is Donald Duck and I was thankful that I had passed my DBS prior to this incident. We did lend a little

assistance pushing their RIB off the beach where it was stuck, to help the situation, and smiled a lot.

Using the rule of 12ths I calculated that we really should be getting going

again as we wanted to be carried upstream by the maximum flow of the

tide. I must admit that I seriously underestimated the effect of the wind

against us as against the tide with us. This wind over tide did result in

some slightly choppy water in places but I am guessing that this would

have been much worse if they had been the other way around. And so

we passed under the bridges and

reckoned that there would be

better shelter from the wind as we paddled up the Tamar Valley. Well, not

really – at least not until we were a lot further up where the valley has

recognisable sides. On the wildlife front, some Canada Geese honked at us

as we paddled past, probably worried about their eggs. High above, a

buzzard circled looking for dinner. More domestic but equally scenic was a

field of Devon Reds – slightly

controversially on the Kernow side

of the Tamar. After we passed the Quay and boat yard on the Devon side

we were able to cut off the corners of the meandering river as the water

levels were so high. We knew we were getting closer as one of the rowing

teams from Cotehele skulled past us heading down river with a cheery

“Hullo”. Karen’s arm was starting to play up at this stage so it was a tow

again that ensured that we both arrived at Cotehele suitably exercised.

Landing was very easy as the water was lapping over the top of the slip allowing us to literally paddle ashore as the

sun was setting. Coffee and simnel cake never tasted so good as we packed up and headed back to Mount Batten.

So an energetic paddle with a huge variety of landscapes along the way –

from the historic Plymouth Hoe, the Royal Naval Yards, the bridges and the

reed beds and gentle country side towards Cotehele. We learnt that wind

direction can make a huge difference even on an estuary, that ballast can

help boat stability but also reduce manoeuvrability and that it is better to

leave sufficient time for a trip to the Who’d Have Thought It on the way

back! I’d do it again – not sure about Karen …

A glance at the PPCA calendar will

reveal that there are recreation sea kayak paddles on the first Saturday of

every month. Clive is running intermediate sea kayak expeditions which are a

little longer, starting away from Mount Batten on several Saturdays over the

summer. There is a weekend trip to the beautiful Roseland Peninsula and a

choice of one week or two on the Scilly Isles. There are even club boats

available for use by members. And for the sharpening of skills various coaches

give of their time on a Tuesday evening over the summer season until it gets

too dark and Terry is offering basic sea kayak tuition sessions. What further

opportunities are required!

You will be much relieved to know that I am going to be so busy paddling that the keyboard will be hung up – at least

for a while. Adam

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North Coast Exploration – David Pedlow

The Plymouth forecast for the next day was (again) the pitts. Easterly, 20mph gusting 30+. No paddling on the

horizon until Saturday, and then . . . . I love Clive, bless his tiny cotton socks, but when he dreams up fancy dress

paddles I tend to get the grumps.

Bob Grose, however, is no mere parochial paddler, and he had discovered that the following day’s conditions for the

North Coast were beyond reproach. An ENE 10mph wind, gusting 15, with virtually no swell, together with a tidal

flow starting SW and reversing to NE at 1400 hrs; so how about a trip Boscastle to Tintagel, even if we can only

muster the two of us? He’s also very persuasive, and it wasn’t until after I put the phone down that the doubts swept

in.

“All of the previous notes on the difficulties of exposed NW facing coasts apply . . . .few landing places . . . .For

experienced paddlers in groups” (Cornwall Custom Kayaks paddling info for Cornwall). And of course there’s a

history. The last time I saw Boscastle was from ½ a mile out on a very lumpy sea. Brooding black cliffs, the tops

hidden in the overcast, the bottom half of what was visible hidden by breaking spray. Half a mile was more than

close enough.

But there we go – in fact it wasn’t the weather, or the swell, that nearly scuppered the trip before it began – it was

the two inches of water in the river below the slips, the pool just off the South Pier followed by a scramble over

rocks to reach the sea, and last but by no means the least, the £5 per kayak landing fee on top of the £5.20 car park

charge!

Notwithstanding, an hour and half after reaching

Boscastle we finally eased the boats into the gentle

waves beyond the pier and paddled into a magic,

mystic, wonderland.

In general geologic terms the coast South from

Boscastle would seem to form part of a

metamorphic aureole surrounding the Bodmin

Granite. What this means is that the rocks have

been altered (don’t ask me from or to what –

though we did see some scrappy slate beds) and

have been subjected to immense heat and

pressure, causing multiple cracks and fault lines

to develop in otherwise hard resistant rocks.

The erosion pattern produced along the coast as a

result features long very narrow inlets called

“Guts” (or “Zawns” in the local dialect) and very

location typical islands, with almost vertical sides

and a pepper pot domed top, as the sea works

into the faults and isolates the headlands. Indeed,

if you go in to Eastern and Western Blackapit, you will see the process happening before your eyes. Both have what

are clearly active fault lines at their tips, and it can only be a matter of 100 millenia or so before they meet and cut

off the National Coastwatch Lookout station. A sad end to so beneficent an institution.

The pattern repeats all along the coast – the

most recently freed islands separated from the

mainland by only metre wide channels, older

examples such as Meachard Island and The

Sisters now well out to sea.

With virtually no swell we were able to explore

every nook and cranny, and venture into the

myriad caves that start where the fault lines,

which on some of the cliff face exposures are as

clear as the lines on your hand, meet the sea.

By and large the high cliffs come in various

shades of black, but along Meachard Island, and

in particular in the Rocky Valley inlet there are

narrow beds of a bright yellow, apparently softer

rock which look almost organic. At the state of

tide we visited, a low waterfall runs into the

inlet, and for all the world it looks as though it is

running over an eroded tree trunk carried in by

the gales. In other places and especially in the

small cave at the back of Eastern Blackapit the

rock face is stained with ochres – red, green and

brown – giving the walls a strangely marbled

effect.

Our paddle was about 15km. After pausing at

Benoath Cove, the sandy floor of which was

rapidly disappearing at half tide, it became clear

that the change of tidal flow from SW to NE was

having an effect on the sea state (some of the

island channels became quite lively) and we

settled for gazing at Tintagel from the Sisters,

before retracing our steps.

We thought that (given the right conditions) carrying the paddle all the way to Tintagel would be a good one for the

intermediate sea paddle, until it struck us that the combination of car park and landing fees would probably induce

an apoplexy in our revered trip leader.

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Diary Dates:- As @ 15 May 2016 NB. – Make sure you check online for the most up-to-date version of the calendar and for details within the forums of any trips being run.

Day Date Start Time Paddle Type Session Leader/ Coaches

Saturday 14-May 10am rec paddle Doug Sitch

Monday 16-May 6pm Paddle Power Andy Nicholls Paul Hewson

6pm Sportivate 1 Sami Pluckrose

Tuesday 17-May 6pm 2 star kayak 2 Star Canoe 3 Star Kayak Rec Paddle

John Mitchell Andy Nicholls Jenny Nicholls Joy Ashford

Alan Ede

Wednesday 18-May 6pm Intro To Sea Kayak Terry Calcott

Friday 20-May 6pm open family Ian Ruse

Saturday 21-May 10am rec paddle Joy Ashford





Pete Anderson

Wednesday 25-May 6pm Intro To Sea Kayak Terry Calcott

Friday 27-May 6pm open family Ian Ruse

Saturday 28-May 10am rec paddle Clive Ashford

9am T2 Starter Session Andy Kittle

1pm SOT2 Safety Course

Andy Kittle





Alan Ede

Wednesday 01-Jun 6pm intro to sea kayaking

Terry Calcott

Friday 03-Jun 6pm open family Ian Ruse

Saturday 04-Jun 10am sea kayak Terry Calcott

Monday 06-Jun 6pm Paddle Power Andy Nicholls Paul Hewson


Tuesday 07-Jun 6pm 2 star kayak 2 Star Canoe 3 Star Kayak Rec Paddle

Brian Taylor Ian Brimacombe Chris Doidge Clive Ashford

Pete Anderson Linda Brady


Saturday 11-Jun 10am rec paddle Ian Brimacombe

9am OSC 2 Andy Nicholls

Monday 13-Jun 6pm Paddle Power Andy Nicholls Paul Hewson



Brian Taylor Ian Brimacombe Doug Sitch Clive Ashford

Pete Anderson Linda Brady


Saturday 18-Jun 10am rec paddle Doug Sitch

9:30am 2 Star Assesment Ian Brimacombe

9am T3 Starter Session Ben Mitchell

1pm SOT3 Safety Courses

Ben Mitchell

Monday 20-Jun 6pm Paddle Power Extra Week if needed



Justin Frost Linda Brady


Saturday 25-Jun 10am see forum

rec paddle Mid Summer Camp

Doug Sitch Clive Ashford

Sunday 26-Jun Mid Summer Camp Clive Ashford



Justin Frost Linda Brady

Friday 01-Jul 6pm open family NO PADDLE

Roseland Sea Kayak Weekend

Axe Vale Canoe Weekend

Saturday 02-Jul 6pm sea kayak / rec Paddle?

Ian Brimacombe

9am OSC 3 Andy Kittle

Roseland Sea Kayak Weekend


Sunday 03-Jul Roseland Sea Kayak Weekend


Tuesday 05-Jul 6pm 2 star kayak 2 Star Canoe 3 Star Kayak Rec Paddle

John elworthy Andy Nicholls Clive Ashford Terry Calcott

Julie Elworthy

Friday 08-Jul 6pm open family Ian Ruse

Saturday 09-Jul 10am rec paddle Terry Calcott


John elworthy Jenny Nicholls Clive Ashford Terry Calcott

julie Elworthy


Saturday 16-Jul 10am rec paddle Joy Ashford

9am T4 Starter Session John Elworthy Julie Elworthy

1pm SOT4 Safety Course

John Elworthy Julie Elworthy


John elworthy Jenny Nicholls Clive Ashford Terry Calcott

Julie Elworthy


Saturday 23-Jul 10am rec paddle Doug Sitch


John elworthy Jenny Nicholls Doug Sitch Terry Calcott

Julie Elworthy


Saturday 30-Jul 10am rec paddle Ian Brimacombe

9am OCS 4

Sunday 31-Jul 6pm

port of plymouth canoeing association wet news 06 may 2016 · 2018. 9. 22. · moment to get their...

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